Unified Data Management

ENGAGEMENT

In the aftermath of a challenging spinoff, DayBlink Consulting supported a major data center company in consolidating fragmented information across digital and analog sources. Faced with the task of rebuilding billing and contract systems, our solution employed automation techniques including RPA, OCR, and ETL scripting to unify customer records, invoicing, billing, and other critical datasets. Automated search algorithms and OCR were deployed to extract and process data, establishing a unified data lake as the foundation for revamped systems. The automated approach led to immediate improvements integrating customer records, invoicing, and billing efficiently. Automation significantly reduced time and resources required for data management.

PROBLEM

Following a recent spinoff, the client faced the difficult task of consolidating over information from 8,000 unique documents and data sources with different and complex formats into one centralized database. With limited resources and conflicting priorities, the client was unable to prioritize the centralization and digitization of these documents, which led to large amounts of wasted time manually finding key pieces of information. Furthermore, without this data centralized, the client was unable to efficiently send invoices and track payments against balances owed.

SOLUTION

DayBlink Consulting used a phased approach with a  variety of automation and database tools/software to read and centralize the disparate data. First, to deal with the key issue of disparate documents and data sources, DayBlink Consulting leveraged automation capabilities such as ETL scripting, RPA, and OCR to scrape and integrate customer records, invoicing, billing, and other essential datasets. The team then created automated search algorithms and OCR to extract and process data into a centralized SQL database that housed all key billing data. Automated search algorithms ensured data could be easily retrieved and organized, while OCR facilitated information extraction from various documents.

Finally, the team built a robust data visualization tool in PowerBI that provided key pieces of information including financial reports, and information related to client volume. PowerBI’s visualization capabilities transformed raw data into insightful and actionable visual representations, helping stakeholders understand trends, identify patterns, and make informed decisions.

By adopting this phased approach, the challenges of disparate data sources were effectively addressed. The integration of automation and database technologies not only centralized the data but also enhanced its accessibility and usability. The final data visualization tool provided a comprehensive overview of critical information, empowering the organization to leverage its data for strategic advantage.

RESULT

The impact of this solution was substantial, presenting numerous opportunities for the client to optimize their operations and improve overall efficiency. Importantly, millions of dollars of revenue were unable to be billed until our implementation.  By centralizing the data, the client was now able to significantly reduce the time spent manually identifying and analyzing critical information, leading to enhanced data accuracy and consistency. Additionally, the implementation of new data visualization tools empowered the client to adopt a more proactive approach, enabling them to easily identify data trends, uncover insights and pinpoint areas for improvement. This comprehensive solution not only streamlined processes but also improved cost-effectiveness, positioning the organization for significant and sustained future success. Furthermore, with better data quality and more efficient data management, the client could allocate resources more effectively and focus on strategic initiatives, driving innovation and growth.